Meltdown at Vierna Four
by Smenzer
Summary: Mysterious problems begin to plague the U.S.S. Enterprise when it visits Vierna Four on a mission. Please R/R and let me know if anyone wants more. This is an old story I wrote in 1995.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Meltdown at Vierna Four

Title: Meltdown at Vierna Four

Author: Smenzer

Rating: PG

Pairing: None. Classic Star Trek

Teaser: 

DISCLAIMER: The characters are not mine. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the others belong to Paramount Studios or whoever owns the Rights to Star Trek. This is just for fun. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER ONE 

Captain's Log, Stardate 3860.1. We are in orbit around Vierna Four, a small Class M world. Our mission: to discover if this planet is suitable for colonization. So far our landing parties have only reported small mammals, birds, fish and insects. I find it extremely odd that there's nothing larger than a rabbit on this world. I hope it does not forebode ill winds for our mission here. Landing parties also report no signs of carnivores that would pose a threat to colonist or of native intelligent life. I still have high hopes that we can end this mission on a positive note. 

"End log recording." Captain James T. Kirk rose from his central command chair and headed for the turbo lift. "Mr. Spock, Mr. Chekov, let's go take a look at Vierna Four. Sulu, you have the comm."

"Aye, Sir." Sulu said as he moved from the helm to the empty command chair. Other crewmembers quickly filled in the vacant spots of those leaving.

"I have heard that Vierna Four is very beautiful, although I vonder why it has no large animals. Vhy do you think it is that way, Mr. Spock?" Chekov asked as he entered the turbo lift. 

"Each planet is different, Ensign." Mr. Spock explained, his hands folded behind his blue uniform tunic. "Each planet evolves differently in its own unique way." 

The turbo lift stopped and the doors hissed open. The three men walked down the hallway towards the transporter room. They were just about to enter the transporter room when they heard someone shout.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Dr. McCoy yelled as he hurried over to join them. The doctor checked his tricorder as he followed them into the room. "I want to get some readings. Oh, whom am I kidding? I heard the place is a virtual paradise and I want to see it. Maybe we can even schedule shore leave."

"That's an excellent idea, Bones." Captain Kirk said as he joined the others on the transporter pads. "If the planet checks out in the last couple of reports, then we can all have shore leave. This crew has certainly earned it. We pulled off some really hard and dangerous missions lately. A break would do us all some good."

"Going down, Sir?" Asked Transporter Chief Kyle with a smile.

Just as Kirk opened his mouth to reply, the comm. link whistled. Kirk stepped off the pad and walked over to take the call. 

"Captain? This is Lt. Gomez. I think you better come down here. I just found something very strange."

"We were just going to beam down." Kirk replied. "I'll be there in a second."

Kirk rejoined the others on the transporter pad and they vanished in a sparkle of golden lights. As Kirk materialized on the planet's surface, he automatically checked to see if the others were with him. Satisfied they were, he scanned the area for the light blue of Lt. Gomez's uniform. The blue was easy to spot among all the red rocks. Kirk briefly wondered why Bones had called this place a paradise. It appeared to be a desert world like Vulcan and Kirk didn't consider that a paradise. Spotting it, he headed in that direction and motioned for the others to follow him. The Lt. Stared down at the bare rock under her feet, a confused expression on her face. "Report, Lt."

Lt. Gomez ran a hand through her short curly black hair and glanced up at the Captain in disbelief. "I don't understand, Sir. Yesterday when I beamed down here there were trees, a whole orchard! There was a field of grasses with wild flowers. But now there's nothing here but bare rock. It's all gone! But where did it go? I know these are the correct quad ordinates. I couldn't have imagined it all, did I?" She looked up at Kirk for an answer.

Captain Kirk slowly turned around in a circle. Everywhere he looked he saw only red rocks. They stretched all the way to the distant horizon. And to the east mountains rose up towards the pale green sky. Glancing down, he scuffed the planet's surface with his boot. Nothing but rock. He turned to his First Officer. "Spock, any ideas? What could make an entire orchard disappear over night? "

Spock and Chekov scanned the area with their tricorders. The tricorders hummed as they pulled information inside them. "Scanning." Spock replied.

"How about bugs?" Dr. McCoy asked. "On Earth there's those insects that can eat entire fields of crops in minutes. Or was it hours? I remember reading they travel in these big swarms and eat everything in their paths."

"Locusts." Kirk answered.

"Yeah, that's what they're called." McCoy agreed. "Do you think this world could have a bug like that?"

"I do not believe this was caused by an insect." Mr. Spock said. "If you will notice, all of the top soil is gone. Insects would eat the plants but leave the soil alone. Also, I can find no organic materials at all in this area except for the stone under our feet. Whatever has destroyed the vegetation did a very thorough job and has left no miniscule particles behind."

"Keptin! Mr. Spock!" Chekov called from behind a large boulder. "I found something!"


	2. Chekov's Discovery

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

Captain Kirk turned at the sound of Chekov's voice. He spotted Chekov waving at him from behind a large boulder. Motioning to the others to join him, Kirk jogged over. "What is it, Ensign?"

Chekov pointed toward some gray material that had collected in a deep depression in the rock. It reminded Kirk of wet cement, except ripples marred its surface. 

"I was scanning the area and I discovered this stuff." Chekov explained. "It is the only thing here that is not a rock. I don't know what it is. The tricorder does not recognize it or what it is made of."

Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Lt. Gomez all stared down at Chekov's mysterious gray liquid. Both Spock and McCoy started to scan the stuff.

"Well, what is it, Spock?" Kirk asked his Vulcan Science Officer.

"I do not know, Captain. But I will take a sample to be tested in the ship's science lab, with your permission, of course." Spock replied as he pulled a large glass tube from his black bag that hung from a strap over his shoulder. Bending down, Spock carefully stuck the tube into the gray material. Everyone watched at the thick gray goo oozed into the test tube. After it was filled, Spock depressed a button and the lid snapped close. He secured the sample in his bag and gathered a few rocks to take to the ship as well.

Dr. McCoy stared at the gray stuff, a frown on his face. "Spock, you don't think this here gray pudding has anything to do with what happened here, do you?"

"Without sufficient information, I cannot answer your question with one hundred percent accuracy." Spock told the doctor. "But by observing this gray puddle I can see it does not have the means to cover the infected area. It does not walk, run or fly. Perhaps it is the byproducts of what has occurred here and will give us a clue to solving the mystery. I intend to examine it on the first opportunity."

"Well, if your sure the stuff is harmless." McCoy shrugged and walked off to examine a pile of rocks. 

"It's getting late." Kirk said as he called the landing party back together. "Let's beam back to the ship. We can continue this investigation tomorrow morning. I also want to see what the other landing parties have to report." He flipped the communicator open and they beamed back to the Enterprise.

Kirk materialized on the transporter pad and immediately stepped down. He walked over to Kyle. "Are all of the teams in for the night?"

"Aye, Sir. I just beamed the last two aboard ten minutes ago." Kyle answered.

"Good. I'm going up to the bridge. Are you coming, Spock?" Kirk asked as he stepped out into the hallway and headed for the nearest turbo lift.

"In a moment, Captain. I wish to drop these samples off into the Science Lab first. Then I will join you on the bridge." Spock headed the opposite way down the hall.

"I think I'm going to turn in for the night, Jim." Dr. McCoy told Kirk as he yawned loudly. "I think all the fresh air made me tired. The duty nurses can handle anything that may crop up during the night."

Kirk arrived on the bridge and called up the reports of the other landing parties. He frowned as he read the reports. Three teams spoke of missing vegetation and one reported missing equipment, seismograph equipment, to be exact. He snapped the report off and leaned back in his chair. A sharp pain had started to throb steadily right behind his eyes. He closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face, rubbing at his eyes. He opened his eyes and glanced at the main viewer. A beautiful planet hung in space before him. It looked like any other Class M world, streaked with white, red, green and blue. 

How can this beautiful world be the cause of my headache? What had started out as a simple mission was now a full-blown problem. Where did the trees go? Who or what took the equipment? Was there an undiscovered intelligent life on the planet? Were they angry at the Enterprise being here? Could it be a deadly virus or bacteria, one that ate organic material? Will the answer be in that cement stuff Chekov discovered? What will go wrong next?

Sighing, Kirk rose from his chair and headed towards the turbo lift. As he reached the doors, they opened and Mr. Spock stepped onto the bridge. "I'm going to stop by Sickbay and get something for this headache. Then I'm going to my quarters for the night."

Spock's eyebrow rose. "More problems?"

"Three teams reported missing vegetation, one had missing equipment." Kirk informed his First Officer.

"Stolen?" Asked Spock.

"Missing, stolen, it's just gone. Did you find out what that gray stuff was?" Kirk asked as he stepped into the waiting lift.

"It appears to be a new type of macerated mucilaginous gelatinous protoplasm." 

"In other words, it's slime." Kirk said.

"I do believe I just said that." Spock replied, his hands behind his back. "Good night, Captain."

Night on the Enterprise. The lights were dimmed in the corridors and the ship was silent as most of her crew slept in their cabins. The science lab was also deserted. Microscopes sat on their tables, waiting for morning. Even the computers were asleep. A thick stack of notes rested next to a towering pile of computer disks. Several of the disks had fallen onto the floor. Glass fronted bookcases held more science equipment. In the far corner of the lab sat a rack of test tubes. The lab was silent.

The quite was broken by a loud rattling, the sound of clinking glass. The test tubes shook violently but no one was there to see. A loud bang filled the air as one of the test tubes exploded. Glass shards flew in every direction as they tinkled onto the floor. A mass of gray slime spread itself out over the rack of test tubes. Parts of it extended and stretched downward towards the table. A loud sizzling filled the air as the test tube rack was dissolved. Smoke filled the air and if someone had opened the door at that moment they would have smelled a great stink. The gray mass slumped in the middle and collapsed onto the table. It stretched out over the table's surface. One part of it formed a psuedopod that stuck up into the air. The psuedopod quivered and undigested glass test tubes were spitted out onto the floor where they shattered into a million pieces. The table dissolved under the creature and it sunk to the floor. Slowly it heaved itself towards the door, leaving a trail of destruction behind it.


	3. Bad Omens

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Captain Kirk tossed and turned in bed. He dreamed some shapeless dark thing chased him through the deserted hallways of the Enterprise. Just when he thought he had managed to escape from it, the thing popped up in front of him. Kirk waved his arms about and muttered in his sleep. "Ship in danger. Got to save my ship."

With a sharp jerk, Kirk woke up. He pulled the twisted blanket off his legs and ran a hand through his sweat damp hair. He climbed out of bed and tossed his damp night shirt into the recycler. He glanced at the chronometer and saw it was almost time to get up anyway, so he headed for the shower, a few minutes later he emerged refreshed but with a troubled mind. The dream had him spooked, as every time it the past such a dream had proven to be a bad omen. Kirk had learned long ago to pay attention to such dreams, as they often proved to be right. The wall intercom chirped and Kirk moved to answer it.

"McCoy to Kirk. We got a problem here in the Microbiology Lab. You better come down here. McCoy out."

Kirk jammed his feet into his boots and pulled on a fresh duty shirt before he headed out the door. He jogged down the ships corridor and wondered what had gone wrong. A hunch told him this problem, whatever it was, was connected to the mystery on the planet below. He rounded a corner and spotted several red shirted security officers standing outside the lab. He hurried toward the room and pushed his way past the clump of security men. One of the security men gripped his arm as he tried to enter the room.

"Careful, Captain. The floor is gone." Lt. Dave Johnson told him. "You don't want to fall down there."

Kirk stared in shock at the gaping hole where the floor had once been. In fact, everything that had been in the room was gone, too. Kirk gulped as he realized he had almost walked right into the hole. He peered into the room below the lab and saw several people down there. Dr. McCoy was bending over an injured crewmember. One of the person's legs was twisted the wrong way, obviously broken. From the blue tunic, Kirk could guess the unlucky crew person was in the science department and probably worked in the lab. McCoy supervised the nurses as they carefully moved the injured man onto a gurney and headed towards sickbay. Besides the medical personnel, there were also more red shirted security personnel and Scotty. Kirk heard Scotty's angry voice drift up to his ears. "What in the bloody blazes were ye scientist doing? Pouring acid on the floor? It'll take us weeks to fix this!"

Kirk turned to face Lt. Johnson. Johnson had short brown hair and was well built. He had accompanied Kirk on many landing parties and Kirk knew he could trust him in a tough situation. "Report, Lieutenant. What happened here?"

"Ensign Andrew Scaefer was coming on duty, Sir. He works here in the lab. Apparently he just walked in and fell to the room below because the floor was gone. After entering the room several thousand times, you don't check to see if it's there. You just presume it is." Johnson said.

Know Kirk knew who the injured crewman was. The name Scaefer didn't ring any bells in Kirk's head. Spock was probably more familiar with him, as he worked in his department. Kirk tried to know all of his crew, but just didn't have the time to meet everyone. He would be sure to visit him later in Sickbay. "But this floor is gone. What happened to it? And what about the stuff that had been in the room, the computers, furniture, lab equipment? I don't see it down there."

"We examined the edge of the floor here and think a powerful acid was used. It apparently ate the floor and everything in the room. Everything is just gone, Captain. We're not sure where the acid came from, as nothing that powerful was stored here. Mr. Scott said he would get a repair team working here as soon as he can."

Kirk knelt down and carefully examined the edge of the floor. Where the floor stopped, the metal was twisted and deformed. It appeared as if it had partly melted and then rehardened. What should have been shiny silver was now charred black. When Kirk peered even closer at the edge, he saw dozens of tiny holes in the metal. Whatever had done this was powerful and now it was loose on his ship. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He smelled something in the air that shouldn't be there, a chemical type smell. 

The captain rose to his feet and faced Lt. Johnson again. "I want answers. I want to know how acid got all over this floor. Seal off the area and do a thorough examine. If we brought up some virus or bacteria from the planet below, I want it quarantined. I can't afford having this stuff spread to other parts of the ship. And if a scientist had an accident, I want to know about that, too. Account for all the personnel on the ship, especially ones that might work in this lab. Find out if they know anything about this."

"Yes, Sir! We'll start on it right away!" Johnson replied. 

Satisfied that he had done everything he could, Captain Kirk headed towards Sickbay to see how Ensign Scaefer was doing. He had questions he wanted to ask.


	4. A Wild Ride

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

Captain Kirk walked into sickbay and immediately headed towards Dr. McCoy. The doctor stood next to the biobed occupied by the injured ensign, When Kirk got closer, he could see that Ensign Scaefer was awake and talking to McCoy. Kirk smiled, as he knew that was a good sign. It meant no serious head injury from the high fall."How is he Bones?"

"Well, he has a broken arm, leg and ankle plus a slight concussion. I already fixed him up, but I want him to stay here in Sickbay for a few days of observation. Head wounds are tricky, but it looks like he'll be fine." Dr. McCoy grinned. It made him happy when he was able to help injured crewmembers.

Ensign Scaefer gazed up at Kirk, hero worship clear in his blue eyes. An expression of awe formed on his face and he tried to comb his tossled hair with his fingers. He tried to sit up but Bones pushed him back down. Scaefer had never meet his Captain before and he was obviously excited.

"At ease, Ensign. Can you tell me what happened?" Kirk asked.

"I was going to the lab to start my duty shift." Ensign Scaefer told Kirk. "I needed to read more information disks. I was so excited when the landing party found that new type of protoplasm! I reached the lab a bit early, as I was really eager to start working! I could hardly sleep last night at all. I couldn't believe I'm the first person in the whole galaxy to study that new protoplasm! And it was different than other ones; it had a unique chemical arrangement inside itself that I had never seen before. That's why I needed to read all of those disks, although I'm sure if I had read about that arrangement before I would have remembered it. I just LOVE protoplasms!"

"Ensign!" Kirk interrupted Scaefer. "I'm glad you love your work here on the Enterprise, but this is a serious matter. Just tell me what happened."

Scaefer's face grew red in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry Captain! It's just that when I get talking about protoplasms I get carried away. And that gray one was so large! This morning I came to work and walked into the lab. But I fell because the floor was gone! I was so scared when I started to fall and it really hurt a lot when I landed. I never felt such terrible pain before. I guess I'm lucky I fell only one floor, I mean it could have been five floors or all the way to Engineering! Who really knows? But it's so odd, don't you think? The floor vanishing like that? Say, do you know where it went because if you do you could put it back. That would be really nice because then I can resume my duties, once I get released that is. Dr. McCoy here is worried about head injuries and I totally agree. Why, did you know that..."

Kirk and Bones backed away from the biobed and headed into McCoy's office. Once they were safely inside and the door closed, Kirk spoke. "Are you sure his head is OK?" 

"I'm sure. In fact, that proves it." McCoy sat down behind his desk and turned on his computer. "He always talks like that whenever he can corner someone. Apparently he spends too much time alone in the science lab and not enough time socializing. So I guess he goes a bit overboard. It's just his personality, Jim." McCoy grew more serious as his pale blue eyes focused on the captain. "Exactly what DID happen in that lab, Jim? Because crewmembers falling distances like that is not funny! We're just lucky he wasn't killed!"

Kirk paced up and back in the small office. He stopped to stare at a pile of computer disks on McCoy's desk. "I wish I knew, Bones. Scotty said it's acid damage. My gut tells me we brought something up from Vierna Four. A microbe, a virus, something...and now its loose on my ship! It might even be Scaefer's protoplasm. But we won't know until we learn more. Until then, you better keep Sickbay ready for more injured crew members. This thing might strike again before we can stop it."

"All right. But you be careful, Jim." Bones told him as the captain headed out the door. Dr. McCoy sat in his office by himself and shook his head. "Of all of the stupid things he had to bring a floor-eating thing aboard!"

As Kirk stepped out of Bone's office back into Sickbay, Ensign Scaefer called him. Kirk walked over to him. "Yes, Ensign?"

"I just wanted to ask if Sam survived." Scaefer said.

"Sam?" Kirk asked in confusion. Was there someone else in the lab?

"The gray protoplasm." Scaefer explained.

"I don't know, Ensign." Kirk replied. He patted the ensign on his shoulder and headed out the door. As he headed towards the turbolift that would take him to the Bridge, Kirk thought of Sam the Protoplasm. He realized that it might be possible for the missing floor. It was, after all, from the planet. Kirk entered the turbolift and pounded his fist on the wall. He had been so stupid! He never should have allowed Spock to bring the gray slime onto his ship! Kirk hit the intercom and called the Bridge. "Spock, I want you to do an internal senser sweep of the entire ship. Look for that gray protoplasm. I think it may be responsible for the disaster in the lab."

"Right away, Captain." Spock replied.

"Kirk out." Kirk said "Bridge". and the turbolift began to move. The square little window flashed white as the turbolift hummed. The lift moved into the vertical track as it continued towards the bridge. Kirk was thrown against one of the walls as the entire lift tilted sideways. A loud groaning filled the air. 

Kirk tried to crawl towards the intercom on the wall. Just as his fingers were about to brush over it, the car tilted the other way. Kirk slid across the floor and smashed into the opposite wall. He reached up and tightly gripped the metal railing inside the turbolift. Just then the car started to drop rapidly down the shaft in free fall and Kirk's body was thrown upward. His feet left the floor as all gravity vanished from the plunging lift car. Still clinging to the railing, Kirk traveled hand over hand until he reached the intercomm. "Emergency stop! Computer, stop this turbolift now!"

"Computer unable to stop this turbolift at this time." The computer calmy told him.

"Spock! The turbolift is falling! The computer can't stop it. Do something!" Kirk screamed.

Author's note: I'll try to post a new part everyday but I'm working on 2 other stories, too. I hope you can understand that. And I rarely write on Saturday, as that's my day to relax and watch my fav shows. Be assured I'll get all the chapters up on this story – but don't panic if I don't post every day. I can't always stay up to 2 or 3 AM writing my fics. 


	5. Going Crazy

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER FIVE

As the turbo lift fell through the shaft, Kirk noticed how quite it was. No loud groaning, no metal scraping against metal. Had both metal braces that held the lift car in its track broken off? Worst, had the creature melted them off? Already in his mind Kirk was more certain than ever it was the gray slime from the planet. 

A deafening bang sounded and the car rattled fiercely. The sound reminded Kirk of the old fashioned guns that fired projectiles. More vibrations shook the car but it kept falling. Finally the car started to slow and Kirk's body collapsed to the floor of the turbo lift. Breathing hard and fast, Kirk rolled over and stood on trembling legs. He waited eagerly for a complete stop and the doors opened to reveal a brightly lit corridor. Kirk sprung out into the safety of the hall and headed for the nearest intercom.

Lt. Dave Johnson and his security partner Lt. Robert Peterson walked into sickbay. They had come to visit Peterson's roommate, Ensign Scaefer. As they approached his bed, they noticed he was busy reading a big pile of library disks. The black disks covered his bed. Every so often he scribbled something down on a memo pad.

"I just knew it. He already moved in here." Peterson whispered to his friend, Johnson. 

Johnson just stared in confusion at all the library disks. He had thought Scaefer was sick.

Peterson walked up to the bed and smiled down at Scaefer. "Hey, how you doing? I heard you took a nasty fall. Doc going to keep you here for a couple of days?"

Scaefer stopped scribbling and glanced up at his roommate happily. "Hi! I didn't here you ooze in here. Did you come to visit me? I'm just fine although the doctor wants me to stay here for a few days, maybe a week. He wants to make sure my bones are melding the right way and I think he's concerned about the concussion I had. Are you trying to find out what happened to the floor? I hope so! I mean, that is so weird, don't you think? I was thinking maybe it was caused by a new space phenomenon, you know? Did you find Sam yet? I talked to the Captain and he said he didn't know if Sam survived or not. Just think! The Captain talked to me!"

"Who's Sam? Was there someone else in the lab? Why wasn't I told?" Said Lt. Johnson as his eyes grew wide in surprise. "I'm supposed to be working on this case! I need to be told *all* of the facts!"

"Calm down!" Peterson told his friend as he waved both hands at him. "Sam's not a person. He's one of my roommate's protoplasms. Isn't that right, Andrew?"

"Of course Sam is a ptotoplasm." Scaefer replied. "He's a big gray one. The landing party brought him up from the planet below us. He was one of the biggest protoplasms I ever saw! Do you think he could have survived? Just think, he may be lost and all alone somewhere on this big ship! Poor Sam! How will he ever survive? Do you want a photo of him? I have one here in the computer. Let me find it along with all the data I have on him. Maybe you could hang up posters or something? Would the Captain allow that? I'm not too sure on the regulations on that one...." Scaefer started to wheeze loudly as he thought of his lost protoplasm. He pressed a button and data was transferred to Johnson's tricorder. 

"You have to find Sam!" Scaefer insisted. 

"Don't worry, Andrew, We'll look for him." Peterson promised as they left sickbay. Once out in the hallway, he waited until they were a few feet away. Then he turned to look at Lt. Johnson. "Boy, am I ever glad he'll be in Sickbay for a few days!You don't know what it's like rooming with him!"

Peterson pulled on his face and his eyes grew wide. "He's driving me crazy! All he ever talks about is those stupid protoplasms! It seems like he never sleeps but talks day and night around the clock. He has all of this junk, too. Statues, photos, paintings, books, even a toy one! I mean, who in the heck makes toy protoplasms? And if it isn't protoplasms, then he yaks about something else!"

He grabbed his partner around his wrist and pulled him into the empty conference room. Peterson started to pace up and back across the floor. He started to talk again and as he did he swung his arms around to emphasize his words. "Did you hear what he said in there? He said we *oozed* in! People do not ooze. He's giving people the characteristics of those disgusting things! I can't stand it anymore. Sometimes I feel like choking him!"

Johnson watched his friend with growing concern. He would have to report this to Dr. McCoy. He didn't want to, but on a spaceship you had to be careful. 

"Oh, what am I going to do?" Peterson asked. He stopped pacing and started to tug on his hair with both hands. He released his hair and pulled a chair out. Then he slumped down on it, laying his head on his folded arms."He's driving me right up the wall and he doesn't even know it. Do you know what he told me last week? That he ordered a Migarian Blob from a catalog."

"What's that?" asked Lt. Johnson.

"Believe me, last week I didn't know either." Peterson shook his head. "But he told me every detail about them. It's a large bright blue protoplasm. He was so happy when he discovered it in that catalog. The people on Migaria keep them as pets and that's what he's going to do. He said they're very affectionate and love humans. The thing is nothing but slime! I'm not staying there with him. No way! I don't care if I have to sleep in the lunch room, but I'm not staying in a room with a blue slime!"

"Calm down. It'll be OK." Lt. Johnson told him. "We'll find you a new roommate, OK? Someone not in the science department."

Peterson jumped up from the chair and clutched his head. "It's just that I can't get it out of my head. He talks about it so much....I can almost see it. Our room covered in blue mucous as that thing moves around. Long, stringy strands dripping off the walls and furniture. It's so disgusting!" 

He turned around, his face red with embarrassment. "I'm really sorry for dumping all of this on you. I know it must sound stupid, but you don't know what it's like. Do you really think you can get me a new roommate? That..." Peterson stopped in mid-sentence and his mouth dropped open. His mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. His eyes bulged out as he clutched his throat with one hand. A gurgle escaped from between his lips. 

"What's wrong? Are you choking?" Johnson asked as he darted towards his friend. "Are you having a heart attack?"

Peterson dashed to the other side of the room and frantically clawed at the wall. After a few moments, Johnson saw bloody streaks on the wall from Peterson's fingertips. 

"I'll call the medics!" Johnson turned around and gasped at what he saw. A huge gray thing was right in front of him. It reached out for him with a sticky pusdopod. Johnson reached for his phaser but before he could pull it out he was enveloped in the gooey mass. A loud sizzling filled the air and Lt. Johnson was gone. The protoplasm oozed across the floor and headed towards Lt. Peterson. 


End file.
